Delaware Township Considers Financial Incentive For Firefighters

DINGMANS FERRY – The Board of Supervisors are looking to potentially create a program to assist volunteer firefighters in some capacity.

At this time there is no definitive course of action the township wishes to take; however, they are considering a property tax break or some small monetary incentive. The Supervisors have some concerns about the implementation of such a plan and how it would function. They expressed concerns that proposing a fixed monetary amount could be misinterpreted as disrespectful towards the volunteers.

Township officials said that over time, responding to calls has become difficult as the scope of the fire department has expanded. The amount of time required to train for different situations has also increased dramatically to approximately 160 hours for full certification. George Boedeker, a prominent volunteer fireman and President of the Delaware Volunteer Fire Company, spoke to the supervisors not in an official capacity but as a volunteer with 42 years’ experience. He stated that he did not think firefighters would consider monetary assistance insulting but that there might be other avenues the township could explore. He went on to explain that if the township wanted to gain volunteers then a monetary incentive might not motivate people to join and that motivating volunteers is the kind of issue a Fire Commission could explore.

Delaware township is looking for a college student majoring in emergency service, engineering or public administration to participate in a part-time emergency management and planning internship for the summer. The position involves working with the Township Emergency Management Coordinator or Township Administrator, assisting the development of hazard mitigation plans and emergency preparations in the township and administrative support.

The internship will run from June 5 through Aug.11 and consist of a flexible schedule is 12 hours a week at $10 an hour. Submit a letter of interest, resume and three professional refences to the Delaware Township Board of Supervisors at 116 Wilson Hill Road, Dingmans Ferry PA 18328 by May 10, marked Attention (Attn:) Emergency Management.

Rich Koehler has been appointed as auditor for the remainder of Cody Smith’s term after Smith’s departure. Koehler plans on running for the position after the end of this term. The Board is working on the Akenac Park Rec Hall rental agreement but has not settled on definitive terms that could include variable fees dependent on usage and supervision of on-site equipment.

Twelve boys from Boy Scout Troop 174, led by Scoutmaster Bill Enrico and Asst. Scoutmaster Don Hayes, attended the township meeting to complete a portion of the Citizenship in the Community merit badge. The merit badge encourages Scouts to interact with the local levels of government and understand some of the responsibilities of being a resident.